Site Search Navigation

Site Navigation

Site Mobile Navigation

Supported by

The Early Word: Clintons at the Convention

By Michael Falcone August 8, 2008 8:23 amAugust 8, 2008 8:23 am

Both Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Bill Clinton will have speaking roles at the Democratic National Convention later this month, but of course, they won’t be making the speeches they had once hoped to give.

News broke late on Thursday that Mr. Clinton had been offered a chance to address the convention on Aug. 27, before the speech of the vice presidential nominee, according to The Times’s Jeff Zeleny. That is the night after Mrs. Clinton is to deliver her speech at the gathering in Denver.

The Times’s Katharine Q. Seelye has more on the back and forth between the Obama campaign and the Clintons on the delicate matter of how to work Mrs. Clinton and her husband into the convention:

This is already a somewhat fraught period for both Mrs. Clinton and her husband since the convention will officially mark the changing of the guard in the Democratic Party, the moment when yet another Democratic nominee will try to do what only one, Mr. Clinton, has managed to do in a generation: be elected.

Both Clintons are sensitive to the process of shaping their legacies. At stake are not just their convention roles but also how history will treat them, and how she is positioned for the future.

Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter notes that Mrs. Clinton has been talking about a “catharsis” in Denver and has compared the process to a “ ‘Greek drama’ that must play out.”
In other convention news, the American Civil Liberties Union has dropped a lawsuit challenging restrictions placed on protesters at the convention. Protesters will be confined to a fenced-in demonstration zone about a quarter-mile from the convention hall, according to The Associated Press.

And The Times’s Dan Frosch writes about how two popular Denver talk radio hosts, Dan Caplis and Craig Silverman, have turned their attention to the presidential race and the big gathering in their city in a couple of weeks:

“I don’t even remember what we used to talk about,” said the velvet-voiced Mr. Caplis, a conservative, who has vowed to do everything he can to prevent Senator Barack Obama from winning the White House.

“The convention has made Denver the political epicenter of the Democratic Party, and we are Denver,” said the distinctly nasal Mr. Silverman, a moderate Democrat who regularly derides Mr. Caplis’s daily diatribes on their afternoon-drive show on KHOW as the “Bash Barack Hour.”

Senator John McCain was campaigning in Ohio on Thursday, when he met with workers of the shipping company, D.H.L. Express, who could lose their jobs if the company follows through with plans to move their shipping operations out of the town of Wilmington. The Washington Post’s Michael D. Shear and Robert Barnes have the details:

Mindful of the state’s place on the electoral map and the need to demonstrate empathy about the economy, McCain told about two dozen company employees and civic leaders he would do everything possible to stop the job losses. He said he will urge the German owners of DHL to visit with residents of Wilmington.

Mr. Obama travels to his native state of Hawaii today to begin a week-long vacation. Time Magazine’s Jay Newton-Small notes: “No matter how low key his intentions, there’s little chance of the trip not looking like victorious Caesar returning from the front: not only did Obama win the Aloha state’s primary and the Democratic nomination, he is arguably already the best-known Hawaiian native ever.”

Veepstakes: Most political observers agree that Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is high on Senator McCain’s vice presidential short list. The Times’s Monica Davey profiles him today:

Outside his home state, Mr. Pawlenty is among the least-known of the prospects Senator John McCain is said to be considering as a vice-presidential partner. But those who have followed his political rise here say Mr. Pawlenty’s personal story — his direct, everyman appeal to ordinary people — is among his most powerful attributes.

Long before the polls began suggesting that Republicans could face trouble in November, Mr. Pawlenty, now in his second term, was urging his party to become “the party of Sam’s Club,” not just the country club.

The Los Angeles Times’s Janet Hook likens the vice presidential search for both of the presumptive party nominees to navigating a “minefield.” Each candidate’s task is, as Ms. Hook writes, “to find a running mate who adds appeal to the ticket — while steering around the candidates who would leave key groups angry and ready to abandon the party.” And she adds that the challenge may be most difficult for Senator McCain and the Republicans.

Campaign Finance: The Times’s Michael Luo reports that the McCain campaign is planning to return $50,000 in questionable donations brought in by the Jordanian business partner of one of Mr. McCain’s top Florida fund-raisers.

Mr. Luo also writes today about a new liberal non-profit organization, Accountable America, that is seeking to be a counter-weight to conservative donors who might give money to right-wing groups that attack Democrats. Accountable America plans to send “warning” letters to potential conservative donors citing the possibility of a backlash, including “legal trouble, public exposure and watchdog groups digging through their lives.”

What is Hillary Clinton’s future? I’m really curious. If Obama wins the election, will she ever run for prez again? If McCain wins, will there be another Obama/Clinton face off in four years? What, ideally does Hillary want to happen at this point? A McCain victory or an Obama victory?

Can the media get a hold of itself? – “Like victorious Caesar returning from the front.” Please, there are homeless children on the streets, our troops are fighting the real war, and [… fill the blanks …].
I am disappointed that “the American Civil Liberties Union has dropped a lawsuit challenging restrictions placed on protesters at the convention.” There goes your commitment to free speech. However, the Democratic Party and Obama are involved so the ACLU can blink their eyes. We are for the free speech in Denver (blink, blink).

Let the Clintons came and speak and take care of their egos. If the come to support Barack Obama, then they will leave a great legacy. If they come to push their own agenda, then they will be finished wit the Democratic Party and the voters. The choice is theirs.

The NYT Times did not like my post yesterday about John McCain’s campaign manager being involved with sending 8000 jobs out of Wilmington, Ohio. I basically said that Wilmington is in a rural area half way between Columbus and Cincinnati and that the Republican Party has failed these voters. They also failed the voters in Northeast Ohio. I also said, that “The Plain Dealer” is a respectable newspaper and finally the press is uncovering what kind of politician John McCain really is (owned by special interests and lobbyists). Let’s see if this makes it into the blog.

I would hope that Senator Obama encourages Geraldine Ferraro to introduce President Clinton at the convention.
It would go a long way to healing the wounds that the Senator intentionally inflicted on women during the primary season.

Letting the Clintons speak as the right thing to do. John Edward should also speak, since he has delegates. I am worried about Reverend Wright giving the invocation. If he does not do it, his absence will be noticed as a rejection of black american. But, his presence will also be divisive.

Clearly the Clintons are so focused on stroking their insatiable egos that they’ll risk further dividing the Democratic party and leaving the White House under neocon control, with all the damage to America that implies.

The Dem convention should be Obama’s show, but Hillary is encouraging her supporters to make a scene. Would Al Gore have won in 2000 if not for the Clintons? Certainly votes were lost as a result of Bill’s narcissism.

Hillary’s lowball attacks on Obama during the primaries will be replayed by McCain in the coming months, possibly costing Obama the election.

The damage done to American democracy by Clinton selfishness may be their greatest legacy.

Once again Barack Obama demonstrates his grace and political smarts. I’m pleased to see that the Clintons’ role at the convention has been addressed. I’ll look forward to hearing what will surely be two great speeches from them, each of which will offer an incisive and convincing rationale for Barack Obama’s victory in November.

How many votes have been cast for Obama? None, zero, zip. You Metro, the world is a video game types are going to be surprised. What if neither Obama nor McCain are their party’s candidate? Children, please take your seats!

Lets play nice to the Clintons in order to get Obama elected. Regardless of the outcome, the Clintons influence will diminish greatly on the democratic party (thank God!). If Obama wins he will be the new leader of the party and the torch will be passed to the next generation of democratic leaders. If Barak loses the election then the Clinton’s actions will be partly to blame. Hillary can hang up winning in ’12.

For Steve Pesce, Lyle Vos and all the rest of the Obama detractors, link below is to Real Clear Politics’ poll page. While pretty close, the numbers don’t lie and Obama has a clear lead in Electoral Votes which is how we elect Presidents. If Obama wins CA by 20 and McCain wins Texas by the same amount, it’s still the Electoral Vote total.

Any attempts by the Clintons or their supporters to foist Hillary on the party in Denver will automatically reaffirm that the Democratic Party has not changed from its chaotic past. The Independents will bolt and minorities will stay home.

Some of you continue to dishonor both Clintons with your actions. As Joe Friday said, “Just the facts, maam”. We choose Presidents by showing up at the “polls” not by media ones.

Clintons at the convention…Imagine if Obamamama picks Hillary, she would have him added to the Clinton body count. Hillary would be president, place Bill as VP…step down and we would have Bill in office again!
Sure we can only elect a pres twice, but it wouldn’t be an election would it?
The democratic dream for America, devide and conquer.

Bill Clinton should use the speech to rant on all elected blacks including Obama himself that failed to set the record straight when Obama began calling an historical fact, (“Jesse Jackson won SC too”) a racist comment. Hillary should be sure to mention the sexist rants of both Obama and his wife, like sticking up his middle finger when uttering the name Hillary and then waiting for the laugh from Obama supporters while his wife made the comment “if she can’t run her own house” refering to Hillary controlling Bill’s affairs……pure sexist rant.

As for the election, I keep hearing how the Hillary supporters are falling in line with Obama from news media. I live in Massachusettes and have yet to find any Hillary supporters that are voting Obama. Most are voting McCain and there are many that say they siMply will not vote because there is no way that they would vote Obama. The plot thickens because these same people when answering phone polls will claim they are voting Obama because they fear being tarketed as a racist……..they fear property damage or personal damage. This election will be very funny when the results come in and as for 2012, we will see Hillary again but Obama is done by November 5th……he will be lucky if he can still hold onto his Senate seat. There are many dummies in this country, obviously, they elected Bush twice but they will not vote this trashy Obama man for President.

I am not a street protestor type of guy. Well, maybe when I was younger when it was a good way to meet passionate girls. But it is sad to see our authorities using Chinese techniques to separate protestors from the events they wish to influence. Shame on the American Civil Liberties Union.

Latest poll of Democrats shows Hillary has a higher favorability rating than Obama does. Which is why Obama is terrified of the thought that Hillary will put her name into nomination at the convention.

President Obama drew criticism on Thursday when he said, “we don’t have a strategy yet,” for military action against ISIS in Syria. Lawmakers will weigh in on Mr. Obama’s comments on the Sunday shows.Read more…